If you can't do situps or pushups, there's no need to worry, because these exercises aren't going to eliminate your flabby tummy. They only strengthen the targeted muscles underneath the fat. To see results, you must get rid of the fat hiding your muscles. An approach that focuses on reducing fat from your entire body can do the trick. Over time, the fat around your middle will reduce, and with consistency and determination, you'll have a flat tummy in no time.

Step 1

Schedule five, 30-minute cardiovascular exercises sessions per week to burn calories. Exercise at a moderate intensity where you sweat, but can still converse. To burn more calories, increase the intensity so you breathe heavily and can't converse, or increase the duration of the sessions to one hour. Some good exercise options include jogging, water aerobics, swimming, biking or a game of tennis or basketball.

Step 2

Perform at least 20 minutes of strength training on two nonconsecutive days of the week to build muscle tissue. Muscle tissue boosts your resting metabolic rate so you burn calories even after you've finished your workout. Focus on exercising the major muscle groups including your arms, legs, chest, shoulders and back. Do exercises such as lunges, squats, biceps curls, triceps extensions, overhead dumbbell presses and bent-over dumbbell rows.

Step 3

Perform abdominal-strengthening exercises for five minutes every day so your tummy appears tight once the fat reduces. If you can't do situps, consider doing abdominal exercises using the captain's chair apparatus or a stability ball. According to a study initiated by the American Council on Exercise, these are some of the most effective ways to target the front and sides of your waistline. If you can, do bicycle crunches or vertical leg crunches, which compared to situps, only require a partial range of motion.

Step 4

Change your diet, because if you eat an excess of unhealthy, fatty, sugary foods, your belly fat won't reduce no matter how much you exercise. To cut calories, eat smaller portions, choose low-calorie foods, avoid calorie-laden drinks and read food labels to find out nutritional content. Remember, to lose 1 pound in a week you must create a deficit of 3,500 calories.

Step 5

Adjust your lifestyle to help eliminate tummy flab. Get about eight hours of sleep each day and do yoga or meditate to reduce stress. Stress and lack of sleep stimulate ghrelin production in your body. This hormone triggers cravings. Simultaneously, leptin, the hormone that tells you you're full, decreases. Additionally, growth hormone production slows, affecting the creation of lean muscle tissue and the speed of your resting metabolism.